In a digital world like ours, building trust with your online customers is very important and challenging, mostly in an ever changing marketplace.
It takes a lot of time to gain it and a second to lose it, but it is one of those non-negotiables for a successful business.
But how do you foster long-lasting trust in a digital era? The obvious answer is sticking to your promises – giving customers what you said you would. But more than that, it’s about the experience you give them on your digital channels.
HERE SOME ADVISES TO BUILD TRUST WITH YOUR ONLINE CUSTOMERS
Building relationships with your buyers is the key point to attract more customers than ever before and entice them to return.
1. Offer excellent customer service
The level of customer service you provide significantly impacts loyalty and retention. This means it’s essential to have dedicated support staff and set high standards for the speed and quality of your service.
As customers reach out with questions and issues, make sure to be consistent with your responses. Create a set of guidelines for your agents that outline appropriate answers for more common inquiries and ensure they have the right tools to find solutions to handle complex tickets. Ensure your agents treat your customers as humans requiring help, not merely customer tickets logged into your helpdesk. Your goal should be to offer an efficient, consistent service with a personal touch that results in satisfied customers.
It builds trust and reassures customers that they are in good hands when you provide exceptional customer service and are dedicated to their needs. Should they run into trouble, your support team will be there to help them throughout their customer journey.
Train your agents to deliver the information each customer needs, then take the time to ensure that the customer’s needs have been met. If there’s an opportunity to go above and beyond, give agents the autonomy to take it because that’s the base for building trust with your customers.
2. Publish customer reviews and testimonials
According to BigCommerce, 72% of consumers say positive reviews and testimonials make them trust a brand more, and 88% trust online reviews and treat them as personal recommendations.
Even if you have negative reviews, it’s ok, because this builds customer trust by telling them you are being honest by not removing them.
When your most enthusiastic brand advocates promote your product or service on your behalf, it helps position your brand in a positive light. New customers will almost always trust other consumers more than companies.
Customer testimonials and reviews demonstrate the value placed by customers in your products and services. Positioning your brand as one that peers favor is the best marketing strategy. If you run an online store, for instance, you should encourage customers to leave reviews and include those reviews on product pages. If you run a service-based business, ask your current and past clients if they’d be willing to share their experiences with your company. Later, use their responses to create testimonials.
3. Give a great user experience
Interacting with your company online needs to be a pleasure not a chore, part of which means making light work of browsing and buying.
A couple of clicks gets you to the item you want, a long list of reviews tells you if it’s any good, and then a one-click purchase system makes it dangerously easy to spend money. Okay so this kind of transactional gold dust just isn’t possible for every business, but the easier you make interacting, the better for everyone. Waiting for a page to load, for example, can make people unhappy and want to go somewhere else. It goes without saying you need to give plenty of thought to the mobile experience, too, given that around half of web traffic worldwide is done through a phone or tablet.
4. Give security
In this digital age it’s essential that you protect customer data and let them know you’re doing it. Make sure you have crystal clear privacy policies and terms of service, so there’s no room for confusion. And if you’re taking transactions, ensure you’re adhering to PCI compliance guidelines, so people can buy from you with total confidence.
5. Give a place to go when necessary
Things can go pear-shaped for any company, but it’s how you handle those sticky moments that can turn a good brand into a great one. Therefore, don’t give up at the first hurdle by concealing your Contact Us information. Nothing will exacerbate a problem like not being able to get hold of someone when things have gone awry. Some companies go all out with 24/7 contact centres and live chat help, but even if you just make it really easy for someone to find your contact email or phone number and tell them when to expect a response, you’ll stand a much better chance of keeping a customer’s trust.
6. Create a loyalty program
76% of North American consumers say they’re more likely to choose retailers that offer loyalty programs.
Customer loyalty programs drive sales and increase customer lifetime value. On the most basic level, it is done through incentives—a loyalty program helps businesses build emotional commitment through repeat and reward behavior. However, an innovative approach to offers creates more impact. For example, offering third-party promotions (cinema tickets, spa visits, stays, and retailer coupons) creates a community and ‘lifestyle’ perception that will emotionally connect customers to your brand. If you can combine this with personalization, the impact is better and more prominent.
E-commerce retailers, for example, often offer free bonus items to frequent shoppers, along with early access to specific sales and promotions. B2B companies, on the other hand, can offer perks like exclusive content and invitations to webinars and in-person events. Regardless of your exact approach, the goal is to make it more advantageous for your customers to continue buying from you rather than to test out other options.
7. Cultivate relationships
Relationship building is important and powerful because it increases sales, reduces customer turnover, provides valuable marketing, and boosts employee morale. When you regard yourself in a long-term relationship with your customers, all types of positive results ensue. The customer knows they’re more than just an avenue to profits.
This high-touch strategy may seem expensive initially, but you’re likely to make that money back by building genuine relationships with your customers. When you know your customers, you can make rational business decisions and cultivate your relationships with them. No matter the sophisticated technology you use to communicate, it’s important to understand that your customers are human and appreciate being recognized, listened to, and understood.
In conclusion, earning customer trust is fundamental and doesn’t require a complex strategy. Offering excellent customer service and ensuring that your support staff understands their roles are the best actions you can take. Essentially, the goal is to put your customers first and ensure that they know they’re your top priority. When you accomplish this goal, you can be confident that customer trust and loyalty will follow closely.